


The Gauntlet's Wake

by TheCityLightShow



Series: Sleep Well, Petey-pie [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Happy Ending, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Tony Stark is Good With Kids, slight angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-30
Updated: 2017-07-30
Packaged: 2018-12-08 23:31:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,296
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11656953
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheCityLightShow/pseuds/TheCityLightShow
Summary: Peter wasn’t sat on the edge thank fuck – Tony had been alittleworried – but instead was sat with his knees pulled up to his chest staring out across New York’s dark skyline. There was very little light pollution to see the stars in the sky (what scared Tony was that they weren’t the right stars but as long as it all stayed up there, he was content to ignore it).This is a sequel, and you'd be better reading them sequentially!





	The Gauntlet's Wake

**Author's Note:**

> I am in love with this little AU I'm building here, so excuse me while I post parts two and three in relatively quick succession (part three will come tonight! I just have to go deal with relatives first...)

Tony’s okayed to leave the hospital a lot sooner than he should’ve been, but his hand is all bandaged up from where the gauntlet had burnt him – not majorly, despite all the screaming, thank fuck – and his cuts are all stitched. Peter’s got his arm in a sling after his shoulder was dislocated, Barton’s on crutches, Barnes is yet again down an arm, Bruce has bruises blossoming over his jaw and up both arms, and Natasha’s hair is jarringly, jaggedly short and her fingers are all strapped up.

They’re alive though, and that’s what counts most. Tony finds himself counting everyone each time he walks into the common floor of the tower that remains intact enough to be used as a base. The first few days of the aftermath Tony had been flitting in and out of consciousness, apparently, with Steve and Peter constantly by his side, and in that time Pepper has set rebuilding efforts in motion. The Maria Stark Foundation is a major contributor, as always, along with Oscorp, and other companies have joined in this time – the government itself is funding almost half, and Tony can’t help but wonder if things might actually change for the better this time.

Tony did his usual count of the people he knew should be on the common floor as he stepped out of the elevator, and his heart skipped a beat when he came up short. He counted again, and made a forceful effort to calm his breathing.

“Uh, where’s the kid?” He called out. Some of the conversation died away as people looked about, but Clint called out immediately.

“Rooftop.” Tony bristled – he and Clint had yet to hash it out, unlike most of the Avengers, but Tony had been putting it off since Clint has lost his family. He nodded a thanks, not trusting his tongue, and got a sloppy salute in return as he snagged a blanket off the back of the couch and headed back into the elevator.

It was nearing one in the morning – no one would be keeping a normal sleep schedule for a few weeks as things fell back into place. The rogue Avengers were in the process of being pardoned, and Shield’s last remaining members were setting up anew in some of the empty floors on the tower; it was bedlam, but having so many people around was nice. Hell, most of them were pleased to see him – but there was only one-person Tony wanted to see now. Friday could only take him up two floors below the roof, so Tony walked up the stairs for the last two, stepping out onto the roof and wishing that he’d had on a thicker jacket as the wind whipped straight through him.

Peter wasn’t sat on the edge thank fuck – Tony had been a _little_ worried – but instead was sat with his knees pulled up to his chest in the centre of the helipad, sling forgotten, staring out across New York’s dark skyline – the tower ran off arc technology, but the rest of New York’s various grids were still down. As a result, there was very little light pollution to see the stars in the sky (what scared Tony was that they weren’t the _right stars_ but as long as it all stayed up there, he was content to ignore it).

Tony considered commenting on the view, but a drop in the wind and he could hear humming. The Beatles, All You Need Is Love, and Tony’s heart broke a little more. He sat down with a groan – he was too old to sit on the floor, truly – and threw the blanket over both their shoulders. Peter’s humming cut off as he tried to shrug the blanket off half-heartedly.

“I’m not cold.” He murmured, glancing sideways.

“Who said this was for you?” Tony joked, “I am, shove over and let me steal your heat.” It worked, and Peter let out a little huff of laughter and shuffled closer. Tony tossed the blanket back over his shoulders. They sat in silence for a while, sounds of cars and distant groups of people drifting up from the sleepy city. Tony wasn’t going to break the silence – neither of them needed to force talking right now, and Tony was quite content to sit and be a presence, if that was all that Peter needed.

"She knew I was Spiderman for all of three months.” Peter spoke softly, breaking the silence. “I- I know, me being Spiderman had nothing to do with, that... that Thanos would've come anyway. Hell, I'd be- be- too.” He paused, and didn’t resist when Tony put an arm around his shoulders. “We fought.” He swallowed hard. “She didn't want me to come and fight, but how could I not, Tony? I can do what I can do and I had to do something with it.” Peter finally turned to look up at him. “I... I have to believe I made a difference." Peter insisted quietly, tears finally brimming over. Tony squeezed his shoulders a little.

"You did, kid. You made all the difference in the world." Tony promised him – and he had, so many people were alive today because of Peter.

"I- what am I gonna do now, Tony? She was- she was all I had. I- I can't go b-back to Queens." Peter’s voice broke then, and he startled Tony by crying in earnest. Tony tugged him closer for lack of something else to do – he hadn’t realised that Peter thought he was going to have to go back.

"Hey, hey, kid- _Peter_." Tony coaxed him to look back up, and Peter sniffled – he looked so young, and Tony gave in to the random urge to reach out and brush the tears off the kids cheeks.

"I don't wanna be on my own." Peter whispered, squeezing his eyes shut.

"Kid, you're staying with me." Tony told him, smiling when Peter’s eyes went wide as they shot open.

“Why- what? Why would you want me? Can you do that? Isn’t there paperwork? Tony you _hate_ paperwork-“ Peter started to work himself up into panicked rambling, so Tony cut him off.

“Yes, there is paperwork, but I’m willing to suffer through it because-“ Tony raised his voice just a little to cut off Peter’s half-hearted protest, “-because that paperwork means, if you want, you can stay for as long as you like, and that’s it. Uncontested.” Peter frowned.

“You mean like adoption?” He asked, somewhere between confused and hopeful. Tony shrugged.

“I- well, you can call it adoption but it doesn’t have to mean you’re my son if not or if you want to stay out of the public eye – it’s more a formality, really-“ And now Tony was starting to ramble too – the pair of them were a mess.

“Yes.” Peter burst out, starting to smile. “Yes, I want to be your son.” And then he immediately looked horrified. “I mean, if you-“

“Sure, kid.” Tony smiled at him. “I mean… well. You saw what I saw.” He was trying to be nonchalant and if Peter’s smile was anything to go by, he was failing. “It didn’t seem that bad.” Tony couldn’t help but grin back as Peter’s smile got wider.

“That’s because you were married to Captain America.” Peter was _teasing_ him, the little shit – they were definitely going to confuse a lot of people.

“Stranger things have happened.” Tony told him, looking up at the sky. There was a beat of silence as they both took in the alien view.

“If by strange you mean getting bitch slapped across four blocks by, and I quote, a ‘grape-faced fucker’ then sure, let’s go with that.” Peter mumbled, and Tony thought his laughter could be heard on the street.

**Author's Note:**

> As always, you can find me at my **[tumblr](http://thecitylightshow.tumblr.com/)**!! Y'all should come and talk to me; I am ready and willing. Laters! :D


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